Director of Photography Department of Huayu

Chapter 570 "Wu Chen's Special Seat": Learning from Zhang Weiping to Get Something for Nothing

Along the edge of the cornfields in Songyuan, the wind carried the acrid smell of burnt soil and vegetation.

The smoke from the fire scene hadn't yet dissipated when the crew, amidst the busy wrap-up work, finally had a moment to relax.

Four consecutive months of intense filming left everyone feeling physically exhausted, but with the wrap party just around the corner, everyone was determined to make a final push and complete the shoot.

Meanwhile, in Beijing, the celebration banquet for "Aftershock" was being held as scheduled, under the watchful eyes of the entire industry.

However, the atmosphere was somewhat eerie.

When facing the media's barrage of questions, Feng Xiaogang spoke stiffly and deliberately avoided the topic of "thanking Wu Chen" throughout the interview.

But the media were not about to let this hot topic slip by.

"Director Feng, what is your response to Director Wu Chen's congratulatory message on Weibo?"

"Director Feng, was Director Wu Chen not invited to this celebration banquet because of scheduling conflicts, or is there another reason?"

"Director Feng, 'Aftershock' has grossed over 600 million yuan, which is quite a success. How much do you think it has to do with Wu Chen's 'The Martian'?"

The questions, like knives, stabbed at Feng Xiaogang, making his face grow increasingly pale, and the scene became awkward for a time.

The media's direct questioning was just the appetizer; the real blow came from the netizens' antics the following day.

A picture of an empty chair has been widely circulated on Weibo: at the celebration banquet, a lonely empty chair was photoshopped next to the main table, with a piece of paper pasted on the back of the chair that read "Wu Chen's Special Seat".

When Wu Chen, who was far away on the film set in Songyuan, saw this picture, he couldn't help but burst out laughing.

Meanwhile, filming for Guo Fan's "Ex Machina" is also nearing its end.

Lu Yang called at just the right time, not for the upcoming "Painted Skin 2", but for his art film "Blind Cinema".

Following Wu Chen's suggestion, he submitted the film to the Busan International Film Festival, and to his surprise, it was selected for the "New Currents" competition section.

Even more coincidentally, the opening film of this year's Busan International Film Festival was Zhang Yimou's "Under the Hawthorn Tree".

The two domestic films quickly generated buzz in Busan.

"That's great, let's try to win an award." Wu Chen encouraged him over the phone, "It's just in time for the October release, which will add some buzz to the film."

"I'm not counting on box office revenue," Lu Yang chuckled, his voice brimming with barely suppressed excitement. "I just hope we can sell some rights in Busan, at least so the company doesn't lose money."

This was his first time being nominated for an international film festival, and his excitement was palpable.

“You won’t lose money,” Wu Chen said confidently. “For a film like yours, as long as it’s not bad, the copyright will sell relatively easily at film festivals.”

This is the truth.

Many art films, despite poor box office performance in China, often recoup their costs or even make a substantial profit through overseas copyright sales.

This is why films by Jia Zhangke and others consistently perform poorly at the box office, yet still receive investment and production funding.

Their films have never lost money!

The Chinese film industry in September 2010 was more vibrant than ever before.

Putting everything else aside, Liu Weiqiang's "Legend of the Fist: The Return of Chen Zhen" alone is a direct challenge to Zhang Yimou's "Under the Hawthorn Tree";
The head-to-head competition between Wu Yusen's "Reign of Assassins" and Tsui Hark's "Detective Dee and the Mystery of the Phantom Flame" has already made moviegoers eager for more, forcing them to add more budget to their movie-buying lists this month.

In particular, "Detective Dee and the Mystery of the Phantom Flame" was successfully selected for the main competition at the Venice Film Festival, making it the only Chinese-language film represented at one of the three major film festivals this year. As the lead actress, Li Binbin naturally became the focus of Huayi Brothers' promotion. The company prepared an extremely luxurious "battle dress" for her, intending to promote her on the Venice red carpet.

Hong Kong media also timely revealed Li Binbin's red carpet outfit - a haute couture gown called "Blue and White Porcelain".

To ensure the effectiveness of the article, Hong Kong media even photoshopped an old photo of Li Binbin on the Golden Horse Awards red carpet for comparison, claiming that he wanted to compete with his "rival" Fan Binbin's "dragon robe" at Cannes.

However, Fan Binbin has never been one to be trifled with.

It's unclear where she got the news, but the day before the Venice premiere of "Detective Dee and the Mystery of the Phantom Flame," a set of beautifully retouched photos of her wearing another "blue and white porcelain" dress suddenly surfaced online.

His publicity team also claimed that Fan Binbin would use this outfit for the filming of a "national image promotional video".

The most crucial point is that Fan Binbin's outfit is indeed more attractive and sophisticated than Li Binbin's.

This hijacking maneuver amused everyone in the industry.

Upon seeing this news, Wu Chen couldn't help but sigh, the battles between these top actresses at this time were the most exciting, playing out like a spy war, with every move potentially fatal.

He simply doesn't believe that Fan Binbin didn't specifically ask around for information.

Just as he was watching the excitement, his phone rang. It was Xiong Xiaoge from IDG calling.

"The Hawthorn Tree"

When Wu Chen saw the caller ID, he roughly guessed what it was.

Sure enough, it was an invitation to the premiere of "Under the Hawthorn Tree," asking if he had time to attend.

"Mr. Xiong, I'm really sorry, but I'm currently in the final stages of filming before wrapping up, so I really can't make it," Wu Chen said helplessly.

"The task at hand is more important!"

Xiong Xiaoge knew the importance of the $200 million film that Wu Chen had invested in, so she didn't try to persuade him. Instead, she took the initiative to talk about some inside stories about "Under the Hawthorn Tree".

As Wu Chen listened, he was also stunned, because Zhang Weiping had pulled off another crazy move.

He couldn't help but ask, "Is it really that outrageous?"

"Yes, Director Wu, I didn't expect it either." Xiong Xiaoge couldn't help but laugh on the other end of the phone.

“Meijin, Universal, and our IDG have all provided ample funding. You know, Director Zhang is actually quite frugal when it comes to making movies.”

In the end, Zhang Weiping's own investment wasn't spent at all. This film basically didn't cost New Pictures any money.

Xiong Xiaoge sighed, "When it comes to getting something for nothing, I feel I still have a lot to learn from Zhang Weiping."

However, this collaborative model between Director Zhang and Zhang Weiping is unlikely to be sustainable in the long run. The other two investors have strong opinions about it. To be honest, I'm not optimistic about the future of New Pictures.

Upon hearing this, Wu Chen nodded to himself.

As expected of someone who works in the financial world, they do have some insight.

Xiong Xiaoge really sees things very clearly.

The smoke of war had already filled the air in September, but with the start of filming for "The Founding of a Republic," "9 Revolution," with Jackie Chan serving as the chief director, followed closely behind.

With examples like "The Founding of a Republic," "Back to 1939," and "Aftershock" achieving consecutive box office breakthroughs, everyone can see the potential of patriotic films. In addition, next year is the anniversary of the Party, so many projects have been approved and started.
At this very moment, Interstellar began its final filming.
(End of this chapter)